Field Measurements for Verification of the Impact of Renovation and Maintenance Measures on Buildings : - regarding Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environment and Moisture Safety

Abstract

Renovating the European building stock has for almost two decades been a matter of importance to the European Union. Reduction of energy use for existing buildings can be achieved through applying energy efficiency renovation measures. Besides this, there is quite a large renovation need in Sweden due to building materials and services reaching (or having passed) the end of their service life.
Incorrectly implemented, renovation measures can have negative impacts on the state of the building, and so can the lack of maintenance measures. In order to avoid negative outcomes, impacts of possible renovation and maintenance measures need to be evaluated. It is also important to be able to predict these impacts and therefore important to acquire data on them, but also more knowledge on how to isolate the impacts of such measures through field measurements.
This thesis aims to assess the impact of relevant and applicable renovation or maintenance measures for buildings in temperate climates, primarily through field measurements. This thesis also aims to illuminate the process of field measurements for acquiring data for the assessment of renovation and maintenance measures. The empirical base for this has included five case studies on renovation or maintenance measures that are relevant for Swedish buildings, and a literature review.
In order to illuminate the process of field measurements for the assessment of the impact that renovation and maintenance measures has on a building, this thesis has analyzed the research procedure in five case studies that have included such assessments. These case studies included measures that impacted on the energy use, the indoor environmental quality, and/or the moisture safety of a building.
The thesis compares the setups of the field measurements in the case studies, discusses the details of the field measurements, the limitations in each study and the consequences thereof, and the knowledge that was gained through the analyses that were conducted. This empirical data, gained from these analyses, formed the basis for the illumination of the overall method for the assessment of renovation and maintenance measures through field measurements.
The results in the included case studies show that the measures that have been evaluated have a beneficial impact on the energy use, and some also on the indoor environment. However, it is important to consider possible risks with implementing the measures in order to avoid negative outcomes. The case studies show that it is possible to determine the impact through field measurements, with accuracy. The analysis of the procedures in the case studies in this thesis shows that different measurement setups require different types of analyses in order to determine the impact of the measure. If field measurements are conducted on an object (e.g. a building) before and after the implementation of a measure, control parameters should be measured simultaneously in order to determine the impact of changes in these parameters on the object and thereby isolate the impact of the measure. If measurements are conducted solely after the implementation of the measure, simultaneous measurements should be conducted on a control object, that is comparable to the object on which the measure has been implemented (the main object) and preferably has not undergone any changes during the study.
The combination of the case studies shows that the design of the field measurements is often based on a hypothesis. The design considers limitations of the case study, possible impact of control parameters, if it is possible to conduct measurements on a control object, and if it is possible to retrieve data from other sources. The combination of the case studies also shows that, most likely, a deviation (e.g. sensor failures) will occur, or a limitation will exist, which will require supplementary analyses to be conducted in order to answer the hypothesis and/ or other questions related to the determination of the impact of the measure.

Abstract (Swedish)

Renovating the European building stock has for almost two decades been a matter of importance to the European Union. Reduction of energy use for existing buildings can be achieved through applying energy efficiency renovation measures. Besides this, there is quite a large renovation need in Sweden due to building materials and services reaching (or having passed) the end of their service life.
Incorrectly implemented, renovation measures can have negative impacts on the state of the building, and so can the lack of maintenance measures. In order to avoid negative outcomes, impacts of possible renovation and maintenance measures need to be evaluated. It is also important to be able to predict these impacts and therefore important to acquire data on them, but also more knowledge on how to isolate the impacts of such measures through field measurements.
This thesis aims to assess the impact of relevant and applicable renovation or maintenance measures for buildings in temperate climates, primarily through field measurements. This thesis also aims to illuminate the process of field measurements for acquiring data for the assessment of renovation and maintenance measures. The empirical base for this has included five case studies on renovation or maintenance measures that are relevant for Swedish buildings, and a literature review.
In order to illuminate the process of field measurements for the assessment of the impact that renovation and maintenance measures has on a building, this thesis has analyzed the research procedure in five case studies that have included such assessments. These case studies included measures that impacted on the energy use, the indoor environmental quality, and/or the moisture safety of a building.
The thesis compares the setups of the field measurements in the case studies, discusses the details of the field measurements, the limitations in each study and the consequences thereof, and the knowledge that was gained through the analyses that were conducted. This empirical data, gained from these analyses, formed the basis for the illumination of the overall method for the assessment of renovation and maintenance measures through field measurements.
The results in the included case studies show that the measures that have been evaluated have a beneficial impact on the energy use, and some also on the indoor environment. However, it is important to consider possible risks with implementing the measures in order to avoid negative outcomes. The case studies show that it is possible to determine the impact through field measurements, with accuracy. The analysis of the procedures in the case studies in this thesis shows that different measurement setups require different types of analyses in order to determine the impact of the measure. If field measurements are conducted on an object (e.g. a building) before and after the implementation of a measure, control parameters should be measured simultaneously in order to determine the impact of changes in these parameters on the object and thereby isolate the impact of the measure. If measurements are conducted solely after the implementation of the measure, simultaneous measurements should be conducted on a control object, that is comparable to the object on which the measure has been implemented (the main object) and preferably has not undergone any changes during the study.
The combination of the case studies shows that the design of the field measurements is often based on a hypothesis. The design considers limitations of the case study, possible impact of control parameters, if it is possible to conduct measurements on a control object, and if it is possible to retrieve data from other sources. The combination of the case studies also shows that, most likely, a deviation (e.g. sensor failures) will occur, or a limitation will exist, which will require supplementary analyses to be conducted in order to answer the hypothesis and/ or other questions related to the determination of the impact of the measure.

• author: Abdul Hamid, Akram
• supervisor: Jesper Arfvidsson; Dennis Johansson; Hans Bagge; Petter Wallentén; Åsa Wahlström
• opponent: Professor Dalenbäck, Jan-Olof, Chalmers tekniska högskola, Gothenburg, Sweden
• organization: Division of Building Physics
• alternative title: Fältmätningar för verifiering av den inverkan som renoverings- och underhållsåtgärder har på byggnader : - avseende energieffektivitet, inneklimat och fuktsäkerhet
• publishing date: 2019
• type: Thesis
• publication status: published
• subject: Building Technologies
• keywords: renovation, maintenance, measures, field measurements, energy, moisture, ventilation, renovation, maintenance, measures, field measurements, energy, moisture, ventilation
• in: Doctoral Thesis in Building Physics
• edition: 1
• pages: 225 pages
• defense location: Lecture Hall V:B, V-Building, John Ericssons väg 1, Lund University, Faculty of Engineering LTH
• defense date: 2019-10-28 13:00:00
• ISSN: 0349-4950
• ISBN: 978-91-88722-64-5
• project: Field Measurements for Verification of the Impact of Renovation and Maintenance Measures on Buildings
• language: English
• LU publication?: yes
• id: daf3472c-3294-43a9-8f4c-19cff035db64
• date added to LUP: 2019-10-02 09:20:14
• date last changed: 2019-10-02 15:06:02